Converted Legacy Event
This event was converted from our old contest and event system into our new jam format for historic preservation. Some details may be confusing in the new jam context.
Blog Contest : "A Life of Steve: Minecraft Blog Contest"
Welcome to Planet Minecraft's latest blog contest! As you all know, Steve has quickly risen to stardom in the world of Minecraftia, or has he? He has long been the only humanoid in the world, fighting an endless battle with hoards of creepers, skeletons and more. But how did he come to be so lonely? What happened in Steve’s past that left him to being the last of his kind? And is there any hope for him in the future?
1. Describe Steve's life.
Your goal is to write a historical account or story describing the series of events that caused Steve to become the only human left in single-player Minecraft (ignoring multiplayer gameplay of course) and what his life beforehand may have been like.
You should also explain how he came to be stranded in the middle of nowhere with practically no sign of human activity apart from the indigenous Villagers and the mysterious dungeons. You may also dive into what the future holds for Steve and whether he ever ends up finding other members of his race again.
You may use images to aid the visual aspect of your submission or to make the read more enticing, however final scoring from judges will be solely based on the quality and presentation of the writing as opposed to images. Marks will be given for the accuracy of writing, the grammatical prowess, the quality of vocabulary used and how the story itself develops, flows and all in all sounds like as a final product.
Judging Criteria:1) Concept and ingenuityMarks go towards how good the backstory of Steve is and how well it flows as a story.
The originality and uniqueness of your story is also a big factor - come up with something no-one has thought of before!
2) Quality and presentationYou will be judged on the quality of your writing and the presentation of your idea.
Clearly lay out your blog and consider using images, videos and concept art to illustrate your story if you want, but keep in mind that any images used that do not directly aid the content of the story will be discarded from marking.
3) Structure and cohesionEnsure that your story is well-thought out and shows clear structure. Ensure that the story flows well and actually makes sense with no plot-errors and continuity errors.
Your writing style and fluency plays a big part in the marking!
2. Ideas must be original and for this contest.
Do not use any images, text, videos or other media that you did not create yourself.
Do not use ideas or concepts that already exist e.g. already existing stories, backstories, RPs or any other written content which exists. We want you to come up with a unique story that YOU have thought of!
You may use videos to help you illustrate points, however the majority of marks are awarded based on the written description and analysis.
3. One entry per person.
Each user will only be permitted to submit one post for this contest. You may edit your one entry as long as the contest is still running. If you decide to change your submission at any point, you are free to do so. However, you should not delete your original entry. Instead, use the "update submission" button to save the changes.
4. The contest will run for three weeks.
Post dates must be made after today's date, October 1st, 2014 @ 12:00 PM EST. The contest will end about three weeks from today, on October 22nd, 2014 @ 12:00 PM EST Posts submitted after this date will not be accepted.
5. Take your time and have fun!
Remember, you have weeks to do this. You don't need to put something up right away - and even if you chose to, you're allowed to update your submission as many times as you want before the final close date of October 22nd, 2014 @ 12:00 PM EST.
All of the normal rules of the site still apply in this contest.
Do not rush yourself to get something in immediately. This contest is not a random drawing - the submissions are judged by a panel of judges. It will not help you to submit anything less than fantastic, so take your time. If you notice that other users have submitted something better than yours, edit and update your own submission to make it even better!
Submit a blog like usual but check the box indicating it's for the contest. 1st Place
2nd Place
- A Contest Themed, Silver, Pixel Art Trophy for Member's Profile Trophy Case.
- Profile Featured on PMC - 1 Week.
3rd Place
- A Contest Themed, Bronze, Pixel Art Trophy for Member's Profile Trophy Case.
- Profile Featured on PMC - 1 Week.
All Participants
- A Contest Themed, Pixel Art Badge/Medal for Member's Profile Trophy Case.
Phase #1: Entry Period : ~3 weeks
This is the time that everyone has to create and submit a contest entry. During this time, judges are reviewing entries, anonymously voting and disqualifying those that don't meet the contest requirements. The PMC community is doing the same by giving diamonds, feedback, etc.
Phase #2: Review Period : 2 days
After submissions are closed, judges get 2 additional days to review late entries and cast their final votes. Their votes are heavily weighted in an algorithm that includes the community's votes and activity to determine the finalists.
Phase #3: Finalists Calculated : Judging criteria
After the finalists are calculated, judges begin anonymously rating each entry based on the following criteria on a scale of 1-10:
1) Concept and ingenuityMarks go towards how good the backstory of Steve is and how well it flows as a story.
The originality and uniqueness of your story is also a big factor - come up with something no-one has thought of before!
2) Quality and presentationYou will be judged on the quality of your writing and the presentation of your idea.
Clearly lay out your blog and consider using images, videos and concept art to illustrate your story if you want, but keep in mind that any images used that do not directly aid the content of the story will be discarded from marking.
3) Structure and cohesionEnsure that your story is well-thought out and shows clear structure. Ensure that the story flows well and actually makes sense with no plot-errors and continuity errors.
Your writing style and fluency plays a big part in the marking!
Once the site detects that all judges have cast their ratings on all finalists, the winners are announced.
Here is a list of the current submissions. Judges will be encouraged to participate, but will be disqualified from winning prizes.